As a business owner, you likely spend most of your time thinking about money, profit margins and cash flow. But, your most valuable resource is actually your time and it’s time for you to invest a lot more of your energy using money, which is infinitely renewable, to free up what’s nonrenewable, your time, energy and attention.

For some, the very term “time management” is like nails on a chalkboard.

But if you’re the owner of a small business, managing your time wisely is critical. You’re the most valuable person in your company, and you cannot afford to spend time spinning your wheels.

To turn a profit, you need to maximize the time you spend doing things that only you can do and use your money to wisely hire out the rest. Of course, for a sole proprietor, it can be difficult to pass tasks along to others. Nevertheless, there are many options available to assist owners of small businesses, even single-member businesses.

Time-Block to Bend Time

The number one key to reclaiming your most valuable asset is time-blocking. Use your calendar to manage everything that needs to be done in the highest leverage ways. And, if it’s not on your calendar it doesn’t get done.

To see the way one single mom of two children with two businesses handles it, check out this video where she shares her time-blocking system laid out for you.

Find a Competent Assistant and Gatekeeper

Sure, you may not be Bill Gates, but having an assistant isn’t out of the question. In fact, hiring a virtual assistant is cheaper and easier than ever before. Outsourcing basic tasks to your assistant such as bookkeeping, returning calls, and email maintenance is critical to free up your time for business-building tasks.

Services like Fancy Hands abound in the United States, and you can screen and hire international virtual assistants using services such as Upwork and Freelancer for far less than you might expect, with no tax consequences.

You do want to have clear agreements with all freelancers and independent contractors. Contact a Creative Business Lawyer®and they can help you get this in place.